United States Navy Band
Encyclopedia
The United States Navy Band, based at the historic Washington Navy Yard
Washington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...

 in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, has served the nation as the official musical organization of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 since 1925. The United States Navy Band serves the ceremonial needs at the seat of government, performing at presidential inaugurations, state arrival ceremonies
State Arrival Ceremony
A state arrival ceremony is a ceremony that takes place on the South Lawn of the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States in Washington D.C., in which a foreign head of state or head of government is formally welcomed to the United States...

, state funerals
State funerals in the United States
State funerals in the United States are public funerals held in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. that are offered to a sitting or ex-President of the United States, a President-elect, as well as other people designated by the President...

, state dinner
State dinner
A state dinner is a dinner or banquet paid by a government and hosted by a head of state in his or her official residence in order to renew and celebrate diplomatic ties between the host country and the country of a foreign head of state or head of government who was issued an invitation. In many...

s, and other significant events.

The United States Navy Band performs all styles of music — from ceremonial pieces such as "ruffles and flourishes
Ruffles and flourishes
Ruffles and flourishes are preceding fanfare for honors music .Ruffles are played on drums, and flourishes are played on bugles...

" to classical, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 and country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 hits.

Organization and personnel

Since its official designation in 1925, the United States Navy Band has grown into a diverse organization of multiple performing units. The organization features six performing ensembles: the Concert Band, the Ceremonial Band, the Commodores jazz ensemble, Country Current country-bluegrass ensemble, the Cruisers contemporary entertainment ensemble, and the Sea Chanters chorus. There are also several chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...

 groups. The multiple ensembles help to meet the public demand for different types of music as well as the needs of Navy recruiting.

The United States Navy Band is composed of 172 enlisted musicians and four officers, under the direction of Capt. Brian O. Walden.

Concert Band

The Concert Band is the Navy's premier wind ensemble. The Concert Band, along with the Ceremonial Band, was part of the original Navy Band in 1925. The group plays concerts in the Washington, DC area as well performing a month-long national tour each year.

Ceremonial Band

The Ceremonial Band performs ceremonies in and around the Washington, DC area. Their main mission is performing for funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. Additionally, the Ceremonial Band performs change of commands, retirements, patriotic openers, wreath-layings and arrivals.

Sea Chanters

In 1956, LT Harold Fultz, then the band's assistant leader, organized a group from the Navy School of Music to sing chanteys and patriotic songs for the State of the Nation dinner. An immediate success, ADM Arleigh Burke, then chief of naval operations, transferred them to the Navy Band, named them the Sea Chanters and tasked this all-male chorus with perpetuating the songs of the sea. In 1980, the group added women to their ranks and expanded their repertoire to include everything from Brahms to Broadway.

Commodores

Since their founding in 1969, the Commodores have become one of the most acclaimed jazz ensembles in the country. Many jazz legends have appeared with the group, such as Ray Charles, Stanley Turrentine, Louie Bellson, Terry Gibbs, Chris Potter, Jerry Bergonzi, Bob Mintzer, Dave Leibman, James Moody, and Clark Terry.

Country Current

The seven-member group was formed in 1973 and quickly established itself in all aspects of country and bluegrass music. The group is under the direction of banjoist Senior Chief Musician Keith M. Arneson.

Cruisers

As the Navy's premier contemporary entertainment ensemble, the Cruisers feature eight of the Navy's most dynamic performers. The group was formed in 1999.

Early music in the Navy

The earliest music of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 was the Shantyman's Song
Sea shanty
A shanty is a type of work song that was once commonly sung to accompany labor on board large merchant sailing vessels. Shanties became ubiquitous in the 19th century era of the wind-driven packet and clipper ships...

. These melodies of the sea helped soften the rigors of shipboard life. Next came trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

ers, drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...

mers and fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...

rs who were carried on the early frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

s to sound calls, give general orders, and perform at funerals and other ceremonies. Military bands became a separate section of the crew on many Navy vessels.

The development of shore-based bands in the 19th century led to the creation of the Naval Academy Band, which grew in size and importance during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Other band units afloat and ashore played a major role in promoting the morale of sailors and civilians alike.

At the start of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 many outstanding musicians left their famous orchestras and joined the United States Navy, using their talents to further the war effort.

Establishment of the U.S. Navy Band

In 1916, a 16-piece band from the battleship USS Kansas (BB-21)
USS Kansas (BB-21)
USS Kansas was a US commissioned in 1907 and decommissioned in 1921. She was the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of Kansas.-Pre-World War I:...

 was ordered to the Washington Navy Yard
Washington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...

 to augment a 17-piece band aboard the Presidential Yacht
Royal Yacht
A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head...

 Mayflower
USS Mayflower (PY-1)
USS Mayflower was the second ship in the United States Navy to have that name. Mayflower — a luxurious steam yacht built in 1896 by J. and G. Thompson, Clydebank, Scotland — was purchased by the Navy from the estate of Ogden Goelet and commissioned at New York Navy Yard on 24 March 1898,...

. The new unit became known as the "Washington Navy Yard Band" and was given rehearsal space near the power plant's coal pile. The increasing tempo of the band's duties led the bandmaster to seek more suitable quarters in the yard's "Sail Loft," and sailmakers were soon cutting and stitching their canvas to the rhythms of the music. The United States Navy Band still occupies the Sail Loft as its headquarters and rehearsal hall.

In 1923, a 35-man contingent from the Navy Yard Band accompanied President Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...

 on his trip to the Alaska Territory
Alaska Territory
The Territory of Alaska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 24, 1912, until January 3, 1959, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Alaska...

. After the president's unexpected death in San Francisco, the band performed the hymn "Nearer My God to Thee" as his body was placed aboard a train destined for Washington, D.C.

With the band growing in importance and prestige, President Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...

 signed into law a 1925 bill stating "hereafter the band now stationed at the Navy Yard, known as the Navy Yard Band, shall be designated as the United States Navy Band." The legislation also allowed the band to take its first national tour in 1925.

Among those praising the early United States Navy Band was the Boston Post
Boston Post
The Boston Post was the most popular daily newspaper in New England for over a hundred years before it folded in 1956. The Post was founded in November 1831 by two prominent Boston businessmen, Charles G...

newspaper, which printed on March 13, 1929: "...Some folks have an idea perhaps that Navy music is made up of a few chantey choruses, a jig, and The Star Spangled Banner. To the average American Citizen the performance last night must have been a truly startling eye-opener. They performed like a company of first-rank virtuosi..."

Under the baton of Lt. Charles Benter, the band's first leader, the United States Navy Band was featured at many historic occasions, including the 1927 return of Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...

 following his trans-Atlantic flight. Two years later, the band performed for the return of Adm. Richard E. Byrd from his famous South Pole
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...

 flight.

The need for qualified musicians led Lt. Benter to found the Navy School of Music under his charge in 1935. Many of the faculty were bandsmen who taught in addition to their performance duties.

Throughout much of the 1960's the Band's leader was Anthony A. Mitchell
Anthony A. Mitchell
Lieutenant Commander Anthony A. Mitchell , born Antonio Alberto Miceli, was an American clarinetist, composer and conductor who led the United States Navy Band from 1962 until his retirement from the Navy in 1968...

, a classical clarinetist and accomplished composer who had joined the band in 1937. During his tenure as the Band's director LCDR Mitchell composed the popular march Our Nation's Capital, later honored as the official march of Washington D.C. He also wrote a march for the yet-unbuilt National Cultural Center in Washington D.C. The National Cultural Center March was first performed and recorded by the band in 1963, and was performed at fundraising events for the Center throughout the early 1960's. In 1964 the Center was renamed the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to honor the fallen president. The march's title was changed to the John F. Kennedy Center March in 1964, though it is still often referred to by its original title.

Crash

On 25 February 1960 19 members of the Navy Band were flying from Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

 to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

 to join the rest of the band at a reception for President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...

 and Brazilian President Juscelino Kubitschek. As the Navy transport plane approached Rio de Janeiro in a dense fog, it collided in midair with a Brazilian airliner above the city's harbor, not far from the landmark Sugarloaf Mountain. Among the 61 people killed were 19 members of the Navy Band, including the assistant leader, J. Harold Fultz, and most of the string section. Three U.S. sailors playing cards at the back of the airplane were the only survivors. The crash was the single worst event in the band's history, and devastated the remaining members of the band. Despite their losses the surviving musicians completed their South American tour.

Capital concerts

Among the Navy Band's many accomplishments were weekly Monday night concerts, as well as smaller daily concerts held at the U.S. Capital. Held on a special stage located on the east side of the Capital, the daily and weekly concerts ran without interruption from the 1930s until the early 1970s.
In the 1960s the Navy Band began a series of popular children's performances, known as "Lollypop Concerts".

Past Leaders of the Navy Band

Leader Years
1 LT Charles Benter 1925–1942
2 CDR Charles Brendler 1942–1962
3 LCDR Anthony A. Mitchell
Anthony A. Mitchell
Lieutenant Commander Anthony A. Mitchell , born Antonio Alberto Miceli, was an American clarinetist, composer and conductor who led the United States Navy Band from 1962 until his retirement from the Navy in 1968...

 
1962–1968
4 CDR Donald W. Stauffer 1968–1973
5 CDR Ned Muffley 1973–1978
6 CDR William J. Phillips 1978–1984
7 CDR Allen E. Beck 1984–1989
8 CDR Phillip H. Field 1989–1992
9 CAPT William J. Phillips 1992–1995
10 LCDR John R. Pastin 1995–1998
11 CAPT Ralph M. Gambone 1998–2007
12 CAPT George N. Thompson 2007–2009
13 CAPT Brian O. Walden 2010–

Radio performances

From 1929 to 1939, the United States Navy Band took to the air waves with Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Morton Godfrey was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname, The Old Redhead...

 on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

's "Hour of Memories" radio program. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the United States Navy Band supported the sale of war bonds and assisted in national recruiting efforts, although the majority of the band's time was spent performing at the daily funerals at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...

.

At the close of the war in 1945, the radio program "The Navy Hour" was born. It featured such entertainers as Lt. Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor (actor)
Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...

 and Lt.(j.g.) Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...

, with whom the band had appeared in the film Anchors Aweigh
Anchors Aweigh (film)
Anchors Aweigh is a 1945 American musical comedy film directed by George Sidney in which two sailors go on a four-day shore leave in Hollywood, accompanied by music and song, meet an aspiring young singer and try to help her get an audition at MGM...

. When it went off the air in 1968, "The Navy Hour" had set a record for one of the longest tenures in radio.

Other notable performances

The United States Navy Band has performed at the following ceremonies and events:
  • 1927 - Washington ceremony for Charles Lindbergh
    Charles Lindbergh
    Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...

    .
  • 1929 - Washington ceremony for Adm. Richard E. Byrd
  • 1962 - Washington D.C. ceremony for astronaut
    Astronaut
    An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....

     John Glenn
    John Glenn
    John Herschel Glenn, Jr. is a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program as a member of NASA's original...

    .
  • 1963 - Funeral parade and funeral for President John F. Kennedy.
  • 1966 - First performance by the Navy Band at New York City
    New York City
    New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

    's Carnegie Hall
    Carnegie Hall
    Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....

  • 1981 - Return of the hostages during the Iran Hostage Crisis
    Iran hostage crisis
    The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in Tehran in support of the Iranian...

  • 1993 - Re-dedication of the Statue of Freedom
    Statue of Freedom
    The Statue of Freedom — also known as Armed Freedom or simply Freedom — is a bronze statue designed by Thomas Crawford that, since 1863, has crowned the dome of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.. Originally named Freedom Triumphant in War and Peace, official U.S...

     and the Bicentennial of the United States Capitol
    United States Capitol
    The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...

  • 1995 - Dedication parade of the Korean War Veterans Memorial
    Korean War Veterans Memorial
    The Korean War Veterans Memorial is located in Washington, D.C.'s West Potomac Park, southeast of the Lincoln Memorial and just south of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall...

  • 1997 - Dedication of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial
    Women in Military Service for America Memorial
    The Women in Military Service for America Memorial is located at the Ceremonial Entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and honors all women who have served in the United States Armed Forces. New York architects Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, husband and wife, designed the memorial...

     at Arlington National Cemetery
    Arlington National Cemetery
    Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...

     and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
    Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
    The memorial's design concept of four outdoor "rooms" and gardens is animated by water, stone, and sculpture.The 1974 design competition was won by Lawrence Halprin; but for more than 20 years Congress failed to appropriate the funds to move beyond this conceptual stage...

     Ceremony of Dedication
  • 1998 - Re-dedication of the Wright Brothers
    Wright brothers
    The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...

     National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina
    Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina
    Kill Devil Hills is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, USA. The population was 5,897 at the 2000 census.Nearby Kitty Hawk is frequently cited as the location of the Wright brothers' first controlled, powered airplane flights on December 17, 1903...

  • 1999 - Veterans of Foreign Wars
    Veterans of Foreign Wars
    The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...

     100th Anniversary celebration at their national convention in Kansas City, Missouri
    Kansas City, Missouri
    Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

  • 2000 - International Naval Review festivities in New York City
    New York City
    New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

  • 2001 - "United in Memory" memorial service at the Pentagon
    The Pentagon
    The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...

  • 2002 - "Beam of Hope" remembrance ceremony at Freedom Plaza
    Freedom Plaza
    Freedom Plaza, originally known as Western Plaza, is an open plaza in Northwest Washington, D.C., United States, located at the corner of 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, adjacent to Pershing Park. Constructed in 1980, the plaza is mostly composed of stone, inlaid with a depiction of parts...

     in Washington, D.C.
    Washington, D.C.
    Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....



Discography of the U.S. Navy Band

Most of these discs are out of print and not available from the U.S. Navy Band website any more. However Altissimo Records has made the majority of these albums available for purchase.

Music

See also

  • Navy Music Program#The United States Navy Band
  • Fleet bands
    Navy Music Program
    As part of Navy Personnel Command's Enlisted Assignment Division , the Navy Music Program Management Office is located aboard Naval Support Activity Mid-South in Millington, Tennessee. PERS-4014 centrally manages the Navy's 11 Fleet bands, one support unit, and two premier bands...

  • Navy School of Music
    U.S. Armed Forces School of Music
    The Navy School of Music is a United States Navy school located on board Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Ft Story in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The school's mission is to provide specialized musical training to musicians of the Navy, Army, and Marine Corps military bands...

  • Musician (US Navy)
    Musician (US Navy)
    Musician is a United States Navy occupational rating.Musicians perform on one or more designated instruments to provide musical services onboard ships and at Armed Forces bases to inspire patriotism, elevate esprit de corps, enhance retention, and foster pride in the Naval service; provide...

  • United States military bands
    United States military bands
    There are many military bands in the United States military. Some are assigned to specific military bases or units. There are also bands associated with each of the service academies....

  • U.S. Navy Steel Band
    U.S. Navy Steel Band
    The US Navy Steel Band was the first all-American and only military steel band. It was organized in 1957 by Rear Admiral Daniel V. Gallery, from the band assigned to him, while he was commander of the Tenth Naval District in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The band was originally called Admiral Dan's...

  • United States Naval Academy Band
    United States Naval Academy Band
    The United States Naval Academy Band was officially founded in November 1852. Previously, there had been a band since the founding of the Naval Academy in 1845, consisting of a fifer and a drummer. The band consists of US Navy career musicians...

  • "Anchors Aweigh
    Anchors Aweigh
    "Anchors Aweigh" is the fight song of the United States Naval Academy, and strongly associated with the United States Navy, composed in 1906 by Charles A. Zimmerman with lyrics by Alfred Hart Miles. Zimmerman was at the time a Lieutenant, and had been bandmaster of the United States Naval Academy...

    "
  • Navy Hymn
    Eternal Father, Strong to Save
    "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" is a hymn often associated with the Royal Navy or the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. Accordingly, it is often known as the Royal Navy Hymn or the United States Navy Hymn , and sometimes by the last line of its first verse, "For Those in Peril on...


External links

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